Farewell Does Not Mean Good-bye
by Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: With a work in progress portal achieved, Miles has the opportunity to send over gifts for those that helped him.
1. Enthusiastic Support of a Young Artist

It started in an art store.

Miles had attempted to juggle erasers, the kind that were individually wrapped in plastic, and make them bounce off the back of his shoe into his basket. He got a one out of four and the other three bounced on the tile floor.

He let out a sheepish laugh to no one as he went to fetch the erasers, and when he reached for the last one he noticed an advertisement sticking out on the shelf.

It read, "Get your little artist started today!" and there was an illustration of children coloring on paper on a circle table.

It made something crackle in his brain, and he acted on the idea. A twenty-four pack of colored pencils joined his supplies in the basket.

It wasn't the first time that he had gifted other things from his world to the other Spiders.

With Peni's work she had made a stable portal within a few months of trial and error. The first items across has been tests to make sure that crossing over anything would not explode into a glitchy pile of misery.

Then it had been gifts, small ones to go with the experimentation.

Noir received an art piece that was bits of colorful glass hanging from a tree sculpture. They twinkled in the light and there was something quiet and happy in Noir's voice when he received the gift that Miles wasn't going to question; just to let it exist.

Others weren't quite as sentimental.

Porker asked for a cup of sugar and returned the favor with a pie that looked as delicious as they did in cartoons, crisscrossed and a perfect puff of steam rising from the crust.

Gwen requested a pair of ballet shoes, after they had spent a few nights working out that a certain brand in his world was cheaper but high quality. When it was figured out, Miles and Gwen celebrated their success over a bowl of ice cream, where the flavor had been discontinued in Miles' world.

Peter got a burger for his monthly annual indulgence, and Miles asked for some advice for life, superhero or otherwise. On the spot, Peter responded with, "Breathe," and Miles let that one slide.

Otherwise, a portal that went to other worlds and did not threaten the existence of everything ever was undoubtedly awesome.

"Hey, Peni," he said as she came into view from the portal. "How's it going? School and all that?"

"Oh, Miles, it was annoying," Peni said, "We had some testing with robotics today and this one boy just wouldn't get in the robot!"

"Ah, ha, that sucks," Miles said. "Anything wrong with it?"

Peni thought about it. "Well, maybe, _maybe_, it was more that he got too tall for it, but he should've said something."

"Some people cannot express their thoughts with words," Miles said and there was a sort of pride in this cool, big bro-like advice. At least he hoped it was cool.

"Ah."

"Speaking of," Miles said, "I'm not sure how paper and wooden tools are doing in the future but I have something for you."

He presented the gift in a bag with poofy present paper because he was eighty percent sure that that was a universal concept, and Peni reached out for it. She pulled out the colored pencil pack first.

"Miles, it's so archaic, I _love_ it!" she exclaimed.

"There's paper, too," he added helpfully. His imagination spun a little at the declaration of archaic.

She pulled out the stack of printer paper and Miles went on to explain.

"Loose leaf is usually, uh, a coming of age for young artists," he said, "But I can probably pop on over to the store again and get you a sketchbook if you'd like that instead."

"I can be like the minds of old," Peni replied, excitement at the sight of paper. "This is perfect."

"Would you, uh, like folder instead? Something to keep it all together?"

"Yes, please!"

Miles got the folder for her – it was a plastic one that made a satisfying scratchy noise when one drew their nails across it – and waved as the small portal disappeared.

After a few weeks Peni called in with an apology that she had gone through the pencils so quickly and now all the sharp points were broken.

Miles introduced her to the pencil sharpener that was in the shape of a hedgehog.


	2. The Climb of a Young Artist

It was after school, when the room was cleaned up and she had gotten her homework done, that Peni took out her manila envelope and opened up the flap to reveal the printer paper. There was a small, gleeful part of her that hoped someone would take interest and ask what she was doing with paper.

It took a few moments of her tracing over the fresh piece of paper with a colored pencil for someone to notice.

"What's that, what's that?" Yoko asked as her hands rested on the desk. She leaned over to look at the paper.

"Paper," Peni replied, and she let her friend take a fresh sheet to turn over and examine.

"Oh, _paper_," Yoko said, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "Like in history class? Where'd you get this?"

The knowledge of alternate universes was better known in this time, in comparison to what Peni had seen, but getting into that would expose a few secrets more than what was needed.

"I made a new friend," Peni said, "He loves archaic materials like this."

She dug through the pile of used paper, decorated with blueprints and surroundings and family and friends, before she found the portrait of Miles. She'd spent the most time on this one. The smile had been the toughest part, trying to pin down how infectious it was, and Peni was mostly confident that it had translated to paper.

Yoko's grin grew wider when she saw it; "You did this? You're already so good with those old tools!"

"I'm still working on it," Peni deflected, and remembered Miles' encouragement, then added, "Thank you, I'm glad you like it."

"Is this the only sort of thing he collects?" Yoko asked.

"No, there are the… pencils and markers and pens, and a lot of things."

Miles had called the loose paper a coming of age for young artists and Peni was interested in these artistic milestones. She had asked when Miles had graduated to sketchbooks, and he told a story that he used to take printer paper from the tray. When he pulled out the tray and took out the paper, shutting it close was a satisfactory sound and taking paper from the package was harder.

His parents took him to get his first sketchbook when the loose leaf paper was piling up quickly. When Peni brought up that maybe all these pages would become a glitchy mess Miles said it would become an avant-garde piece.

"My friend called this kind of paper a starter for young artists," Peni said when she noticed Yoko leafing through the fresh paper.

"Isn't it easier to go digital?" Yoko asked.

"He would say that's a good one, too," Peni said, "But that there are a lot of different ways to do art."

"And I like how the pencils feel when I draw them along the paper," Peni added with a sheepish tone.

Yoko looked back to the paper and nodded.

"I see, I see," she said. "Can I try?"

"Of course!"

After Peni found her pack of colored pencils she showed Yoko the techniques she had learned, and her printer paper supply from the envelope ran out.

The next time Peni was able to talk to Miles she presented the portrait to him and said, quickly, that she was sorry but she didn't have time to talk this time, and rushed off for school.

Later in the day, when Peni felt ready, she contacted him again and admitted that she was nervous to give him the picture.

"That's all right," Miles said, "Those are an artist's growing pains."

And then, "Hey, Peni, look," as he lifted up a picture frame. Her art was kept safe behind a glass barrier.

The nervousness in Peni transformed into delight.

**A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on Febuary 7 2019 to Febuary 12 2019**

**If you don't know, Peni Parker's origin comic has references to characters from mecha anime. The one here is a reference to Gurren Lagann. It was the first mecha anime I watched, though I haven't seen it all the way through, unfortunately.**

**Artist growing pains still exist for older artists, but hopefully they're easier combated. I describe mine to my friends as, "Slapping someone in the face with my work and then running away XD" when I'm nervous about posting fic or art.**


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